Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen have claimed their second BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament victory this year, following their impressive win over Indonesia’s Carnando/ Marthin, 21-10, 22-24, 21-19, at the Hong Kong Open 2023.
Reflecting on their achievement, Astrup expressed his satisfaction, stating, “It means tremendously; it’s such a nice victory, such a nice game. I think the intensity was very high, and Carnando/ Marthin played a good match. We did what we could, and luckily, it was enough today. Yeah, I’m just extremely satisfied with the win here.”
As the Paris 2024 Olympics are less than a year away, the Danish pair's continued success paints a promising picture for European badminton. Rasmussen added, “It’s always nice to have your name in some special places, and we hope to continue the Danish men’s doubles legacy for a while.”
Although not flawless in their performance during yesterday's final, the duo expressed their delight in emerging victorious and adding to their list of accolades. Astrup remarked, “We stayed present even though the second game slipped from us; we stayed in the game and tried to focus on every rally and make it tough for them, and we succeeded with that.”
Rasmussen chimed in, saying, “Today we made a lot of mistakes in the crucial parts, but we also played really good afterwards, so winning a tense final like that is also something to take further. We’re really happy and proud of ourselves.”
This latest triumph marks their third gold medal of 2023, with previous victories at the Canada Open and European Games, in addition to their silver medal at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships.